Raut said, “I met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his residence today. I wished him on the occasion of Diwali. We discussed the politics in Maharashtra
Mumbai: Yesterday ShivSena senior leader Sanjay Raut reached out to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and visited the latter’s residence in Mumbai even as uncertainty over government formation in Maharashtra continues to linger on.
Soon after meeting Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Sanjay Raut told the meeting was nothing more than a courtesy call.
Raut said, “I met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his residence today. I wished him on the occasion of Diwali. We discussed the politics in Maharashtra.”
There is Speculation over the backchannel talks between Congress-NCP and ShivSena following Sena’s demand of 50:50 chief ministership with BJP in the coalition government. BJP has not committed to Sena’s demand while Uddhav Thackeray’s party has earlier made it clear that there will be no government in the state till Amit Shah puts in writing that the “pre-decided” deal between BJP and Shiv Sena will be honored.
It has been a week that the results for the Maharashtra assembly elections were declared on October 24. However, the stalemate over government formation refuses to end with Shiv Sena refusing to climb down its demand of getting an equal share in the chief minister’s post.
On Wednesday Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan had said if Shiv Sena comes up with a “concrete deal”, the party will consider it. However, he immediately said it was his personal opinion.
The BJP and the ShivSena fought the October 21 assembly polls jointly, winning 105 and 56 seats respectively, but are engaged in a bitter tussle over sharing of power in the next government.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party wants rotational chief ministership and half of the portfolios, demands rejected by its senior partner, the BJP.
The NCP and its ally, the Congress, won 54 and 44 seats, respectively,
The NCP has declared that the people’s mandate is for the party to sit in the opposition, along with ally Congress and other parties.
While clarifying the NCP had conveyed to the Sena its willingness to support it in a new political configuration to keep the BJP out of power.
NCP chief had even backed the Sena saying there was nothing wrong with its demand for a timeshare at the top job.
Mr. Pawar had said “In the 1990s also, there was a 50-50 formula for the ShivSena and the BJP. So they have past experience in governance. So the Sena can insist, nothing is wrong,”.
Earlier, the ShivSena and the BJP held separate meetings with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, calling them courtesy visits for Diwali greetings.
Yesterday, Aaditya Thackeray led another delegation of MLAs in a meeting with the Governor. This time, it was on farmers’ issues.
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